Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Russ Stoddard of advertising and design company Oliver Russell is "the force" (his words) behind the Boise Bike Brigade, or B3. The brigade wants to change the world "One Revolution at a Time."

During the past few months, Stoddard and team have been kicking more than just foot pedals. Using their signature blend of snappy graphics and high-quality website design, they put together not only the Victorian themed B3 website but now a special spin-off titled the Boise Bicycle Universe.

"What I was hoping to do with the bike universe was to create an online site where people could find cycling resources around the community—looking to create a unified community," said Stoddard.

The site revolves around an Adobe Flash video game that pits a space-suited cyclist picking up spare tubes while dodging goatheads and canines, in an effort to cycle through the universe. But the site also links to numerous other cycling entities in the Treasure Valley, including bike shops, advocacy groups, public entities, racing clubs and teams.

Boise Bike Brigade

Play the part of interstellar cyclist versus the dreaded goat head.

The idea, says Stoddard, is to unite the community into a one-stop shop for the curious cyclist.

"Once we get a lot of these players on there ... [we'd] say, 'Why don't we get together and have a cycling summit?'"

Stoddard hopes that as the word spreads, more cycling-centered organizations will step forward to get involved. The hope is that the website will turn into a sort of town hall for bicycling.

As for the game, if you can net the high score during the next couple weeks, you'll receive a special prize. Stoddard himself is putting up $50 for a gift card of your choice should you nab the high score.